“I will be fully funded before we go to India.”
This was a prayer of mine last month in Cambodia, and on July 1st, while on a layover in Malaysia before India, that prayer was answered. He had done it! I was fully funded!!
At the start of my month in Cambodia, I was $1,125 away from my final fundraising goal. I had been praying continuously for more funds to come in, asking my teammates to join me in praying, and asking God to highlight names of people to reach out to or creative outlets to share my story.
My fundraising journey started in May of 2016. Now, over one year later, I was so close to reaching my final goal that I finally was just over it. I felt a fire unleash in my spirit. At this point in the Race, I knew that this was where God wanted me, so I was confident that the Lord had already provided the remaining funds I needed and I was determined to find them and finish out my fundraising.
So, I again started praying about my fundraising and, suddenly, it came to me.
Through my fiery, determined prayers the Lord told me, “You will be fully funded before you go to India. You must only pray and believe that I will keep my promise in that.”
Throughout the Race, I’ve learned a lot about praying bold prayers. More often than not, I minimize my prayers out of fear that God will not answer them if they are too big or bold. “If I pray for smaller, more vague things then I will not be disappointed if God does not answer me.”
I eventually learned how huge of a lie this is and my fundraising testimony is an indicator of that.
So, this prayer, “I will be fully funded before I go to India“, is very bold. But have you ever felt so certain about something, that no matter how crazy it seems, you know and you know that it’s going to happen??? This was one of those times.
Of course, I had moments of doubt, especially as the day we were leaving for India got closer. But, every time I doubted whether God would provide and keep his promise, he reassured me that He is always faithful.
Throughout the month, I would check my fundraising to see if there was any progress. Most days I saw no progress. Then, about halfway through the month, my remaining funds slowly started dwindling… $1100…$950… $450! It was now the last week of the month; we would be arriving in India in five days and I was still $450 away from reaching my goal.
Two days later, I got two emails notifying me that I had received two more donations and was now only in need of $200.
Three days to go and I was praying furiously and checking my page everyday hoping for progress.
It’s finally Saturday, the day we fly to India. The $200 had not yet come in, but we had a ten hour layover in Malaysia so I knew there was still hope.
During the layover, as I was settling in to watch Harry Potter with some friends, I thought, why not check my fundraising page again, just in case.
And there it was.
$300 from an anonymous donor.
God not only met my needs, but he exceeded them and provided in abundance! (And of course He had to wait until the last possible minute to add a dramatic flair to the story.)
This testimony proved to me that God loves when we pray big and bold prayers! He loves providing for His children (Matt. 6:25-26) and, when we pray boldly, it gives opportunity for His power to shine through that much more. Testimonies such as this glorify God and show that no one but my God could be responsible for this.
I encourage you to think about areas or situations in your life where you can pray more boldly. Where in your life is God asking you to increase your faith and pray those big prayers?
“Ask and it will given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matt. 7:7-8
P.S.- Thank you SO much to everyone who has supported my journey. I am so grateful for each and everyone of you. Every little bit matters and I would not be living out this dream today if it were not for you. Also, anonymous donor, whoever you are, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for listening to God’s voice and responding with obedience. Thank you for your generosity and willingness to partner with me in this journey.
